


A Threat to Love You

by Seven_0f_Spades



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, Mentions of Blood, Murder, Romance, Thriller/Mystery, Violence, sfw, vampire
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-27
Updated: 2019-06-27
Packaged: 2020-05-20 19:58:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19383664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seven_0f_Spades/pseuds/Seven_0f_Spades
Summary: Briel Medley is ostricized by her small town. Why? Because she was the only one left of her murdered family. Many assumed her guilt. There is more going on in this small town than others care to notice. A new face makes things a little easier, and a whole lot harder, as Briel tries to bring the true murderer to light.





	1. Lies Leading the Ignorant

**Author's Note:**

> So this story is self published on Amazon: [Here](https://www.amazon.com/Threat-Love-You-Sarah-Barnett/dp/1534684085)
> 
> It hasn't gotten any fame, so I am posting it here for a free read. I wrote this in high school and it took 10 years to finally finish. I was inspired to write because I read the Twilight books and thought I could make a better main character than a whiny little girl. So here it is. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

It's hard living in a small town, especially one in the deep south of Mississippi. The neighbors weren’t next door, but everyone knew who lived in each house. Knew family and friends alike. There were only three fast food places and no real stop lights. The roads were either dirt or old and cracked. The buildings hadn’t been updated in years. Yellow brick and old graffiti normally decorated the buildings. The newest addition to the town was the hospital and it stood out like a sore thumb with its glistening windows and metal structure. It may not have been as far south as Louisiana, but it was still secluded enough for people to be...well, stupid...though ignorant would be a nicer word. People in my town could be so ignorant that you wondered if they still thought the earth was flat.

Merrowmarsh consisted of a maximum population of 500 people, and everyone knew everyone and their cousin, so it was hard to keep secrets. The best way to keep a secret was to keep it to yourself. Word got around quickly in a town that was just barely introduced to the Internet and cable.

So when my mother, Jezebel, ended up dead on my 10th birthday everyone knew about it, and everyone was trying to solve the murder mystery on their own. Of course no one actually knew who did it. Only my brother, Daniel, and I were present at the time. People started assuming it was him just because it was the only likely option. He was the only one home, the only one old enough to do such a thing.

Then one day after school, I came home to find the door ajar. It was unusual and I was cautious as I walked in. Furniture was tipped over, there was blood on the walls and Daniel was dead on the stairs. That was when the accusations were turned towards me. That I was the killer, for who else could have done it? Who else was home? I was the only one there. Regardless of the fact that I was in school at the time. Some people just couldn’t think properly.

Karen, my best friend, was the last straw. Karen had been the last one in the pool when everyone went inside to wait for the birthday cake, then she didn’t come in. Once she was murdered, at her 13th birthday party, everyone knew that I had done it. Briel Madley, the serial killer. They didn't take into account that I was acquitted or that the judge and sheriff found no evidence that pointed the murders to me; no. They knew because it was the only option, and they were just that smart.

Then no one wanted to be associated with me after that. They were afraid to get too close; afraid that I would kill them next. I couldn't even find a job because of it. I tried the local banks but they didn’t feel like I could handle it with my past experience. Even the gas station said that I couldn’t be hired because I would scare clients away! Luckily, or not so luckily, the Sheriff's Office offered me a job as a secretary. The town liked the idea of me constantly on watch by the law of the town; on the other hand, I thought it would protect me from whomever it was that wanted my family dead.

Sadly, that wasn't true. Two years ago, when I was 16 years old, I went to the Sheriff's office, Sheriff Kreg Crowen, to give him some files that needed to be signed by him. But he was out, or just in a different location in the building at the time. So, I did some curious snooping just as anyone would do. As I placed the files on his desk I noticed a framed picture of a woman on his desk. It struck me as odd, not only because I knew Kreg's wife was dead, but because the woman looked like me.  
I was startled when Kreg came in and closed the door behind him. I stood nervously behind his desk wondering what he would say.

"I knew this day would come sooner or later." He said as he walked over to his desk. I moved accordingly out of slight fear of the powerful man.

"What day? The day I gave you paperwork?" I joked nervously.

"I am sure you have noticed. My lovely wife, Diane, she looks so much like you...looked." He took a deep sigh. "No one will believe you."

I lifted a brow in confusion, "What?"

"I knew you were her reincarnation. That is why I had to do away with them. If you were left alone, sooner or later you could come to me; rely on me. It would bring us closer together."

I was frozen. Did Kreg just admit to killing my family? I was so shocked that I physically jumped when he touched my face, turning it to look at him. I hadn't noticed that he had moved.

"Briel, you will be mine." He whispered and leaned closer to my face as if to kiss me.

I shoved him with all my might, causing him to stumble back in shock. "You k-killed my family to get me to LOVE YOU?"

I winced as Kreg moved quickly and took my upper arm in a tight, threatening grip, "No one will believe you. I am the Sheriff of this town. I am the GOD OF THESE PEOPLE!" He seethed, "If you let out one word of this...meeting... I will not hesitate to gather evidence and permanently lock you away."

My heart clenched, and it felt as if a rock fell into my stomach. I whimpered as a tear ran down my cheek. Kreg wiped it away in what he would call a loving gesture, "Are we understood, Briel?"

I nodded, unable to speak up at the moment for fear of falling apart.

"Good, why don't you end your shift for tonight?" He said as he released my arm and went to sit at his desk.

"Yes, Sir." I whispered shakily before composing myself and leaving the office.

I am 18 now, in my senior year of high school. To this day no one knows about that encounter with Kreg and I was hoping to leave the whole mess behind when I left for college. Even though it left me feeling sick that Kreg would get away with killing the ones I loved, I felt that there was no way I could ever expose him without ruining my life in the process.

I was wrong, so very wrong.


	2. Ignore Me or Love Me

Falling in love wasn’t on my list of things to anticipate in my life anymore. My main concern was getting good grades in order to leave the God forsaken town of Merrowmarsh.  
So when a new student joined the high school, I was a bit flustered to find him extremely attractive. My initial thought was to ignore him and continue my studies.

But that wasn’t his plan. 

As any intelligent human being would, he noticed how the others treated me, avoiding me and trying their best to stay as far away from me as possible when sitting in class. I assumed that they told him about me and all of the horrible tales that had been made up to make me seem like a bloodthirsty monster...

So why was he approaching me with that intense stare! It was as if he was on a mission to finish me off, I was a bit frightened to say the least when he stopped me in the hallway before I could get to my next class.

“Briel, right?” He stated, “Do you mind if we talked?”

My heart was racing and I could feel my cheeks heating up as his green eyes stared at me intently. “I have a class to get to. Maybe after school?”

If he could catch me.

“Sounds like a plan.” He said with a polite nod before continuing on his way.

I hurried to my next class in the hope of not being late, but the bell decided to be an ass. I was nervous, continuously watching the clock in the classroom waiting for the school day to end. I needed to leave quickly and hopefully avoid the new boy in school.  
The bell rang signaling that school was out. I hurried to my locker to get my things together and rushed to exit the school, but I wasn’t quick enough. The new student was waiting for me outside the door and I had unfortunate timing and met his gaze. I couldn’t run now, it would be suspicious, but why was I worried?

“Glad I caught you. So do you mind if we have a chat?” He asked politely.

“Sure, but I have to get to work.” Maybe I could get him to reschedule the talk? 

“Oh, right, you work at the sheriff's office. I can drive you.” He said pointing to a red truck parked in the small school parking lot.

There was no way I was going to get out of this conversation. I sighed, “Fine. What do you want to talk about anyways?”

“You.” He began to walk towards his truck. 

By all means I could have just turned and ran, but I didn’t. I got into the truck that still had the newly bought smell to it, and placed my school bag between my legs. I buckled up and turned to look at him as he settled into the truck. He seemed bigger in the cramped space of the truck.

His shoulders seemed wider, and up close his face held a look of one who has seen some shit. Tired yet brilliant green eyes and a strong jawline made him seem older. His red hair was slightly unkempt as if he were due for his seasonal hair cut. He turned his brilliant green eyes to look at me, and he smiled. Oh boy, did he have a wonderful smile. I could feel my face heat up in a flush again, and I tried to calm down. “Before we get started on this, conversation, can I have your name?”  
“Of course.” He started the truck and it gave out a large rumble. “My name is Nicolas.” 

He pulled out of the parking lot and we were on our way to the Sheriff’s office. Normally, walking took me about 13 minutes, so it wouldn’t take long to get there in Nicolas’ truck, which was good. It meant the talk would be short. “So what did you want to know?”

“Are the rumors true?” He asked in a serious manner, eyes staying on the road ahead.

“Which ones?” There were plenty. Ones where I killed my family out of wanting money, and others that claimed I was just a crazed psychopath that was bored and needed some fun.

“Did you murder your parents?”

I flushed in anger. How could anyone think that I could do that? It always baffled me. “Of course not! You know I was acquitted for their murders right? There was NO evidence pointing their deaths to me. NONE.”

“Do you know who did?”

I felt my stomach drop. I felt nauseous. I could tell him, but would he believe me? And we were heading to the station as we spoke. It was risky, but he could listen. He was the only outsider who could actually listen and not have a prejudice towards me. “Yeah, I know.”

“Have you told anyone?” He asked as we pulled into the office parking lot.

“Look, you should stop asking these questions, alright? All its going to do is cause more trouble. Just leave it be.” I opened the truck’s door and stepped out, but I caught his gaze as I went to reach my bag.

He was staring again, this time his green eyes held worry. “I can help.”

I looked toward the office building and then back at Nicolas. “No, you can't.”

I didn’t hear the truck leave until I was already inside and placing my bag at my work desk. The less Nicolas got involved the better. I mean, I wanted to bring Kreg’s murderous deeds to light and get the asshole in Prison, but it was unrealistic. The only thing that would happen, would be Kreg killing Nicolas and framing me for it, and maybe this time he would actually put me away for it.

But then again, maybe he could help. Maybe Nicolas was the knight in shining armor that came to help the princess. I stifled a giggle at the thought. All I knew about Nicolas was that he was a red haired, green-eyed, hunk of a man that was suddenly dropped into my life. I could either stay and hide under my rock, staying safe, and living, or I could do something crazy and possibly put the bad guy away.

It was a difficult choice.


	3. Getting to Know You

Three weeks had gone by and Nicholas was still trying to get answers out of casual conversation. We would be talking about how horrible lunch was when he would suddenly ask why I wouldn’t tell him. Whenever he brought it up I would quit talking, or leave. 

But it didn’t stop him. The boy had determination.

After my last class let out I caught him by the front of school standing next to his truck. “Listen, I don’t have work today, do you want to come over and do homework together?”

I blushed as there was a long pause of him just staring at me like I had grown a second head, then he smiled, “Sounds wonderful.”

I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding and got into the truck with him. I had made up my mind. I would tell Nicolas about Kreg. Kreg had never said not to tell anyone what he did, just not to tell anyone about the encounter, right? So I would tell Nicolas the story and maybe it would cure his curiosity and he would leave it alone. At least, that was what I was hoping for.

I was very nervous. Since I wasn’t the most liked, I never had any friends over to my house. No sleepovers or parties, what was I supposed to do? I could offer him a cup of kool-aid but that seemed weird. Of course, Nicolas wasn’t spending the night, but it was still a boy coming over. A hot boy, that I would be alone with.

I hadn’t thought that part though. “Take a turn here.” 

Nicolas did as I said and soon we were pulling into the gravel driveway. I had been so concerned with what to talk to Nicholas about, that I hadn’t thought about anything else. Including on what might happen if he ended up being a big pervert. Great, now it was all that was going through my head.

“This is your house?” He asked in awe.

“My aunt pays the bills since it was inherited.” I turned to look at him as he continued to stare at the two story home. “It's not that big!”

He looked at me and rolled his eyes, “Yea, sure.”

He turned off the truck and began to walk up to the porch with me. I took out my keys, and it took two tries for me to unlock the door. I took a deep breath, it was okay. I just needed to calm down and tell Nicolas the truth. How hard was that?

We were two hours into our studying and homework, and I had yet to tell him, that was how hard it was. Everytime I tried to bring it up, the words would end at my lips and change into something else. I put down my pencil and sighed, “Nicolas, I wanted to tell you the truth.”

“Yea, I figured.” He said sitting up straight from his slouched position over the coffee table in the living room. “So who did it?”

I frowned, “There is more to it than that.” I sat on the couch and offered the seat next to me for him to sit, “It’s complicated.”

Nicolas settled on the couch facing me. “Well, we have all night.”

So I began explaining to him the events that had happened to me. My mother's death, my brother, my best friend, I told it all. I hesitated, but even told him of my encounter with Kreg. It was as if I had been holding back a damn of emotions and it wouldn’t stop.

“But you can’t tell anyone! Okay? Please!” I begged as he continued to stare at me with an unreadable expression.

“You said it yourself, no one would believe you. So that leaves us with the other option.” 

Oh no, I didn’t want him making plans. “There IS no other option! You are not messing with this! I told you so you would stop digging up shit to get us in trouble with!” 

He chuckled at my choice of words. “But there is. We make him confess. Catch him in a vulnerable moment and record his reaction.”

I frowned, “That won't work. People will think we made it up somehow.”

“Then we get him to mess up in front of everyone.” Nicolas stood up and began to pack up his school work.

“No! We are not doing this! There is no plan!” I continued to argue as I escorted him to the door.

I grabbed his arm before he left. He wasn’t listening! “Please Nicolas! You...You...” I blushed as I realized, “You are all I have right now.”

He grinned and it made my heart do the cute little flutter they talk about in books. “You like me, huh.”

“NO!” I protested, “But, you are the only friend I have. The only person I can talk to! I don’t want you to die too!”

Tears were streaming down my face in fear and frustration. He lifted a hand and wiped them away, it oddly calmed my racing heart. “I am stronger than you think. I won’t die that easily.”

“Yeah right.” I scoffed.

Nicolas leaned down and captured my lips in a quick kiss. Leaving my lips tingling in wanting more. “Trust me.”

And that was it. The door closed and Nicolas was off to his truck to do whatever handsome boys do after kissing a girl. I hoped he was right.

That he had some miracle plan to fix all of this, and that he was somehow strong enough to not die in the middle of it.


	4. What a Plan

I had given Nicolas my phone number so he could contact me outside of school or work. Especially work. The less Kreg knew about Nicholas and his involvement with me, the better. I stifled a giggle as I read a text from Nicolas who was complaining about our Math homework. It was nice having someone to talk to and to joke around with.

“You seem to be happier nowadays.” 

I looked up to see Deputy Ross standing by my desk with a smile on his face. “Yeah, I made a friend.” I said trying to be as vague as possible.

“I’m glad. I was worried that none of the kids would open up to you.” He placed some papers on my desk to file away.

“Really? You never talked to me outside of work, I didn’t figure that you cared at all.” I tried not to sound bitchy but it was a little hard to take the venom out of my voice.

“Sorry. I just have a problem getting close to younger girls.” He blushed.

Oh. “Right, but you are like 45 and have a wife.”

“Doesn’t mean I don’t get nervous around girls.” He winked playfully. Or at least I hoped. I didn’t need any added drama to my life. “Have a nice weekend.”

I nodded as he left the room. Weekend was right, and I had off. Maybe... I texted Nicolas: “Hang out this weekend?”

His response was instant: “YES!”

I texted back: “Okay, pick me up from work at 8:00pm.”

I grinned, we could plan and maybe I could learn more about my newly acquainted friend. Kreg had left work earlier so I didn’t see why Nicolas picking me up would be a bad idea. Things couldn’t have been better for me in the next few weeks. It felt as if everything in the past was slowly fading, but it was still there. I didn’t forget, it just felt like the rock that had fallen on me was slowly being lifted.

Finally.

When I got out of work, Nicolas was waiting out in his truck, thank goodness I didn’t have to awkwardly wait outside. When I got in it smelled like fast food, my tummy grumbled and my mouth watered. I turned and watched him take the last bite of a burger before crumpling the wrapping and putting it in the fast food bag. He turned to me and laughed.

“There are fries in the bag if you want them.”

This boy was a God send for sure! I ungraciously reached into the bag and pulled out the still warm fries and began to eat them as Nicolas drove to the house. I reached for his drink automatically and paused, “Um, do you mind?”

He looked at where my hand laid and grinned, “No, go ahead.”

I picked up the paper cup, and sipped through the straw without hesitation and put it back in the cup holder. He chuckled under his breath. Why would he...oh my God. It was an indirect kiss wasn’t it! I continued to eat the fries to try and hide my embarrassment. Well, it wasn’t as if he hadn’t kissed me before. 

My blush deepened. I really needed to stop thinking. The fries were good. Nice and salty and had a bunch of the thin crunchy ones. 

The truck rolled over gravel and the sound alerted me to being home. The excitement hit me again and all I wanted to do was jump and yell in joy of having to spend time with a friend. To spend time with Nicolas.  
We spent the majority of the time actually doing our homework and getting things done; and I was upset to find it already 11:30pm once we had finished.

“I guess you will need to head home soon, huh.” I sadly stated from where I sat on the couch

Nicolas looked at his phone for the time and turned to face me from where he sat on the floor next to the small coffee table.

“Would you mind if,” Nicolas seemed nervous, “If I stayed over for the weekend?”

“Like, all night?” This was strange to me, but I was fairly excited at the prospect of a sleepover. “What about your parents?”

He frowned, “That too. There are things you don’t know about me. Things I should tell you and I haven’t.” He scratched anxiously at the back of his head. “I’ve been living in my truck for the past few weeks.”

“So, what happened?”

His hands gathered in his lap, twiddling with his rings as he explained. “It's similar to your situation. It's why I sympathized with you so quickly.”

“You mean, your parents were murdered as well, and you were blamed for it?”

“Partially? My parents were murdered, but I fled before anyone could suspect me. I assume they think I am either dead or still missing.”

“Nicolas-” I was going to say how sorry I was but he stopped me with a hand raised.

“Let me continue.” He put his hand down and took a deep breath, then exhaled. “My parents were murdered in front of me 2 years ago. It was so, so bloody.” He paused in remembering. “I sat there for a few hours, just stunned, before I packed my things and took the family truck and left.”

“So, do you know who did it?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Are you planning on getting them for it? Telling someone?”

“I can’t and I won’t.”

I was confused, “What do you mean?”

“If I told anyone they wouldn’t believe me, and there is no way I can put her away.”

“Sounds a lot like what I told you.”

“Like I said, it's similar to your situation.”

“Then why can’t you tell me about her? Why can’t we put her in Prison or something?!”

He was silent for a minute before adding, “Because she is a little bit like family. I just,” He looked up at me with eyes that were full of sadness and of one who had already given up. “ She will find me one day, and I hope I am strong enough to run away from her again. So, can I stay the night?”

I wanted to know. I wanted to help, and I guess that was how Nicolas felt when he found me. “No, you can stay until we get things figured out. So long as you behave.”

Nicolas grinned widely and hugged me tightly. “Thank you so much!”

I hadn’t been hugged in a long time. The feeling was nice, it stirred my heart with warmth and made tears well up in my eyes as I embraced him. It was like a blanket for the soul and the heart; it was something I hadn’t known I had missed.

We pulled apart, both of us wiping away tears, and we laughed at that.

“Thank you, Briel.” Nicolas said sincerely, “Really, thank you.”

I blushed with the mixed emotions of happiness, excitement, and concern for the boy, “You are welcome.”

I got up from the couch, “There are three rooms in the house. Mine, my brothers, and my mothers. You can sleep in my brothers room.”

Nicolas got up to follow me upstairs. “Are you sure that is okay?”

“Yeah. I mean I miss my brother, but it's a room and a bed. It’s not him.” We got to the top and I opened the door to my brother’s room.

“What about your mother's room?” He asked as he put his backpack on the bed.

“It’s off limits.” I felt my excitement suddenly start to fade at the mention of her.

Of that room.

“I thought it was just a room.” He teased gently.

“It is. It’s still damaged and stained so I don’t go in there.” The atmosphere became tense and awkward with silence that seemed to last forever.

“I’m sorry.” He said in a raspy tone as if he was fighting back tears. Why would he...

I felt the wet tear fall down my face. I wiped it away quickly. Damn it! They continued to fall and I began to hiccup with the sadness that suddenly decided to spew forth and fall from my eyes and lips. I slid down to the floor and curled up my legs to my chest. I didn’t want him to see me like this! I was strong, I didn’t want him to see me broken.

But it's hard to keep emotion inside for so long. I guess the closeness to Nicolas, the talks, and opening the room; it just opened up old wounds.

Strong arms embraced me and I leaned into his warmth. He continued to say he was sorry. I wanted to tell him it wasn’t his comment, that it was just me missing my family. But I couldn’t form words, all I could do was cry. And as the tears escaped, I felt an odd relief. I pulled away from Nicolas, wiping my eyes, they hurt from my constant rubbing and probably looked red. I was tired.

“Thank you, Nicholas.” I said and forced a grin to try and convince him that I was okay. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

He helped me stand up. “Yeah. Good night.”

I nodded and headed to my room and closed the door. I felt drained, somehow more exhausted than I have in a long time.

I flopped on the bed and the smell of the cool clean sheets calmed me down.


	5. Here

The weekend was dream like. Well, it seemed like a dream anyway. It was sort of blissful: full of laughter, fun, and just overall joy that came with having a friend around instead of an empty home. Nicolas would leave early in the mornings, something about morning jogs for his daily exercise. So I came to expect him already up and ready when the Monday came around.

I had just put up my dirty dishes from breakfast when Nicolas came through the front door. “You about ready to go?”

I stood up and grabbed my bag, “Yep.” Once we got into his truck I handed him the spare key to the house, “This is yours, please don’t lose it.”

Nicolas took the key and added it to his keychain before starting the truck. “Thanks again, Bri.”

I blushed at the nickname he had come up for me. It had began to stick over the weekend. “Your welcome, just don’t call me Bri in front of other people, Okay?”

 

We were in the parking lot of the school soon enough. We were still early so Nicolas decided to stay in the cool vehicle with me for awhile.

“Oh, I have work after school today.” I stated while messing with the radio stations. There was nothing good on in the mornings.

“While you are there you should snoop a bit.”

I looked at him questionably and leaned back in my seat after finding a station with music. “Why?”

“Well,” He started, “If Kreg did what you said he did then there must be others, right? There must be other people who got him really pissed off, or just got in his way, that he took care of.”

“So what exactly should I be looking for?”

“I don’t know, odd cases. Stuff that seems like a suicide or overdose but doesn’t add up, or even just old cases that were never dealt with.”

“And what do I tell them when they catch me going through case files?” I wasn’t too keen on this plan of his but so far things with him were going smoothly.

“Tell them you want to go into police work for college and you want to get some experience? I don’t know, you're smart, you will think of something.”

I rolled my eyes at him. Sure, easy enough for him to say. He wasn’t the one doing the dangerous part of the plan. “Right, then I will see you after work.”

Nicolas gave me a questioning look. “You don’t want a ride to work?”

We got out of the truck and began to walk towards school. “I’ve done it for years, it will be fine.”

I never realized how much the officers didn’t pay attention to me. I had already gone through several cases and no one had even asked what I had been so busy at my desk. There were very few that stood out to me and even they seemed normal.   
One case stood out the most: Rebecca Carver. 

She didn’t die, she got put away, and by none other than Kreg himself. The case was odd in the fact that no absolute reason was given to her incarceration. She was there because Kreg said she was bad. He had seen her do things that were considered against the law, but even the evidence was fuzzy. Photographs that were supposed to be evidence of her crime could really be of anything. They were just small hints that when put together seemed awful in the wrong light.

“Ah, you looking into old cases?”

I jumped at the Ross’s voice next to my desk, “Um yeah, just preparing for college and such.” Smooth.

“You know, if you really want to know the case better, you can talk to Rebecca down at the Prison.”

I was confused, why would he willingly want to help me with this. “But I don’t know her.”

The Deputy smiled, “I do.”

Oh. That would explain why he would want me looking at this case. Did he know something I didn’t about Kreg? Could he help me put him away? “That would be super, but could you come with me?”

Ross’s friendly demeanor slipped and his smile faded, “Sorry, I can’t. And you shouldn’t be looking at these files anyway.”

I was thoroughly confused as Ross took the case files from my desk and walked away. I wondered what had gotten into him, when Kreg walked out of his office. There definitely was something going on with Ross and Kreg. Luckily I had taken pictures of the file before hand. 

Nicolas and I would need to go over it once I got home. This could be the key we needed to expose Kreg.

My phone buzzed and I looked at it to see that Nicolas had texted me: Picking you up early. Storm is coming.

I looked out the window next to me to see the trees swaying in a heavy wind, and the sky looking overly ominous and slightly green tinted. I replied back with an okay. 

By the time that I was clocking out to leave the storm was already looking bad. The sky was completely dark even though it was only 5:30. The wind had not given up. Leaves and small branches littered the parking lot and it was starting to rumble outside with the threat of thunder and lighting. I saw Nicolas's red truck coming up the road just as the rain began to fall, his headlights illuminating what I couldn’t see.

Kreg stood before me just as I grabbed my things to head out. “Do you need a ride home, Briel?”

I gave him a forced smile, “No, I already have a ride. Thanks.”

He turned to look out the glass doors to see Nicolas’s truck. His brow furrowed, “And who is that?”

“Just a friend from school.” I could see the gears working in his demented head. I didn’t want to give him more than that. I didn’t want him to know just how close me and Nicolas were getting.

“But you don’t have any friends.” He said in a small whisper to himself.

I ignored it and continued on my way out of the office. Once I opened the glass doors, the wind hit me at full force, blowing my hair in every direction and taking the breath from my lungs. I took in a deep breath as I rushed to get in the truck. The rain was colder than I expected and left the air smelling metallic and wet.

It was down pouring before we reached the house: to the point that we could barely see the road ahead. But we made it and rushed inside, still soaked even though we rushed to get under the front porch. We were inside when the first loud boom of thunder shook the house and lightning lit up the sky.

“We made it just in time, apparently.” Nicolas said taking off his wet boots at the door. 

I did the same. “I will get us some towels.” I headed down the hall to the laundry room, “I got some interesting information for us to look at too.” 

“That's great.”

I came back to where he stood in the living room and shouted in surprise to see him shirtless, “Oh my God! Cover up!” I threw the towel at him.

He laughed, “I can’t believe you looked!” he mocked, “You could have seen my boobs!”

Great, he was making fun of me, well I could do the same, “I did see them, and now I need therapy.”

He let out a genuine laugh that made me smile upon hearing it. 

He joined me in sitting on the couch and I opened up the pictures on my phone; showing him the case files of Rebecca Carver.


End file.
